Summer Of Love
by xxprongsyxx
Summary: James Potters cousin is visiting for the Summer holidays, Rachel Potter and Sirius Black should be the perfect couple that is, if they ever get together. A story of Love, Summer and just hanging out...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter: Reuniting and Wrestling

Summary:

"Oh yeah right, I had to stop because the phone rang" said James protecting his manly hood.

"Yeah, the imaginary phone" I said sticking out my tongue at him.

"You did not go there" said James in mock shock.

"Oh…I went there" I said mocking him.

Quote:

"_To live is like love, all reason against it, and all healthy instinct for it."_

_Samuel Butler_

Rachel's P.O.V 

Love, I have never had that experience before, trust me, I have tried. I have been on so many first dates it is hard to count. But this summer will be will hopefully be different because I am spending it in England with my Aunty Carol and Cousin James Potter.

My name is Rachel Potter and back when I was about 10, I moved from England to America with my Mom and Dad; I haven't seen Aunty Carol or James since then.

I am now sixteen on my first ever trip without my family; I am excited and completely nervous at the same time.

"Rachel!" called out someone through the crowd at the airport.

I had just landed in England and was standing awkwardly with my excessive amounts of baggage.

Looking around I couldn't see anyone that I recognized.

"Rachel!" the same person called out again.

This time I saw a lady with dark hair and brown eyes waving madly at me, I gave a huge wave and smiled before trying to pick up all my baggage and walk at the same time.

"My goodness Rachel, you are looking beautiful" she said when I got closer to her, and in all aunt style, she added "I haven't seen you since you were about this high" she exclaimed putting her hand down to indicate the height.

"Well you look exactly the same Aunty Carol" I said.

"Oh you" she said tapping me on the shoulder although I could see her cheeks reddening slightly.

Aunty Carol and I stepped outside into the cool night air with my mountains of luggage.

Once we were out of the airport traffic and driving along nicely, Aunty Carol and I started chatting about everything (the way only girls can manage).

"So you finally learnt to drive?" I asked impressed.

"Oh yeah, Harold was out in the garage for weeks trying to figure the darn thing out" she paused and giggled to herself "he even had to get that new apprentice from the muggle section to help him out, you may not have heard of him, Arthur Weasly?"

I shook my head

"Nice fellow, but I have also been learning to cook" she said sounding impressed with herself.

"Congratulations, I hope your birthday cakes are a little better" I said smiling.

"Oh you still remember that, dear oh dear" she said a little nervously.

I giggled, "Its fine, it blew up in that evil little girl Cassandra anyway" I said

She laughed, "James is excited to see you as well" she added.

"Me too" I said "I've missed him"

"We also have a new recruit to the family, he is James best friend" she said not taking her eyes off the road "the two are practically brothers, his names Sirius by the way"

"Cant wait" I said

"Anyway, how is the Pigskin School of Witchcraft and Wizardry going for you" said Aunty Carol casually.

"Well…"

Sirius' P.O.V 

"What if she thinks I am a jerk?" said James as he continued to pace around the room, "I mean, we were friends when we were kids but we are older now"

"Look man" I said trying to calm James down, "she will still like you, you are her cousin"

James sighed.

"I guess you are right" he said

"I know I am" I said confidently.

"Don't get too cocky" he said.

"Just because I am the champion wrestler" I said proudly defending my honor.

"Oh yeah right, I had to stop because the phone rang" said James protecting his manly hood.

"Yeah, the imaginary phone" I said sticking out my tongue at him.

"You did not go there" said James in mock shock.

"Oh…I went there" I said mocking him.

Before I had the chance to register what was gong on, James had me tackled to the floor. Of course I would not stand (or collapse on the floor) for this so I naturally fought back. Unfortunately for us, we didn't notice anyone walk into the room until we had each other in a headlock.

"Rachel!" shouted James, causing us both to let go of each other.

"You haven't changed a bit" she giggled giving her cousin a hug.

"And you must be Sirius" she said turning to me, I finally got to see her in full view and boy did I like it.

Rachel Potter was a goddess; queue choir singing now.

She had beautiful long brown hair that set gently along her delicate figure, her body was perfectly shaped and the clothes she wore did not reveal too much flesh while not hiding for no one to see. Her skin was a flawless olive color although I could easily say the best thing about her is her big brown eyes and her perfect smile.

"Mmm…hmmff…ye" I managed to choke out.

I cleared my throat with a little cough, "that would be me" I said a lot more understandably this time.

"Pleasure" she said smiling again.

"Look I am sorry everyone but I am exhausted" she said stifling a yawn.

"Of course dear, you should get some rest after that flight" said Mrs. Potter.

"Thanks" she said

"James, Sirius can you carry Rachel's bags to her room" Mrs. Potter instructed.

"Yes Mom" James and I said at the same time.

The three of us walked down the hall into a section of the West Wing (I might mention now that the Potters are extremely wealthy people, but also the kindest people ever).

"Well here you are" said James putting some of her things down.

"Wow" she said as she gazed around the room with her beautiful eyes.

'Wow' was the right word, I had only been in here once before but it was huge. I shared a room with James so being in this room alone made it seem so much bigger.

It had a huge King size bed with red and white sheets along with a red feature wall. It had a walk in wardrobe and a private bathroom. It was like a mini house.

"Thanks" she said taking the bags off our hands.

"No problem" I said.

Rachel began to put her clothes away while talking, mainly to James.

"What have you been up to?" she asked

"Oh well, you know playing Quidditch, school and playing pranks" he said smirking.

"Why did I need to ask?" she laughed "How long has it been since you've pulled the old teary trick?"

"Been a while, I don't really get the same response as you did" he laughed

"The teary trick?" I questioned, determined to be a part of the conversation.

"Oh yeah, I would start crying and get anything I wanted" Rachel said.

"And I would comfort her, we always got extra cake and dessert and play a little longer, that sorta thing" James added.

The next hour past before we knew it, full of laughter and jokes.

Rachel yawned, "Sorry boys but I am just too tired to stay awake"

"That's fine" I said, ready to leave.

James stood up as well and looked at Rachel, "If you wake up in the night, don't hesitate to wake us up"

"Ok" she said smiling.

"Goodnight" I said to Rachel.

James and I left the room and went back to James room to get ready for bed.

"She seems nice" I said casually.

"Yeah, she is awesome" said James.

The two of us stumbled into James Quidditch poster covered room and threw on our pj's.

"' Night" mumbled James as he collapsed onto his bed.

"'Night" I said to him and lay down onto my bed.

I lay silently thinking about the strange hold Rachel had over me, and with these thoughts I slowly drifted off to a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel's P

Rachel's P.O.V

The gleam of the eerie moonlight shone too brightly into my eyes keeping me from any more sleep. My body felt exhausted from the previous day, yet my "body clock", I guess you could call it, was telling me to get up.

I finally gave in and got out of bed and slid my feet into my slippers and pulled my sweatshirt over my pyjamas. I crept quietly through the large house in search of the kitchen – I knew that James had told me to wake them up but to be honest, I had no idea where to even begin looking for his room; at least I had a vague idea where the kitchen was.

Finally, after many wrong turns and wrong doors, I found the ki8tchen.

This was only the small kitchen, the main one was somewhere else (no idea where), it had wooden shelves that contained various cereals, wooden bench tops for food preparation and an old sink. The kitchen also had a fridge and freezer for milk, juice and hopefully ice cream as well as a n old table in the middle with chairs that where looking old and worn out.

It may seem a bit peculiar that a family with so much money had a room like this but there was a simple explanation, it felt like a home.

It was the most homely room in the Potter's manor, down to the windows facing the waterfront with stained, frilly curtains or the marks of James and my height from when we were young.

So it wasn't much of a surprise when I saw someone else sitting there,

"Hi Sirius" I said chirpily, even at this ungodly hour.

He looked a little startled, but pleased to see me none the less.

"I love this room" I sighed taking a seat next to him.

He had a bowl of ice cream that looked so tempting I took a spoon and began to dig in. He chuckled at me and let me keep picking at the icecream.

"Don't we all" he said admiring the room, his eyes always on me eating his ice cream, "it very…" he paused to think of a suitable word.

"Quaint" I said shortly.

"Quaint?" he questioned.

"I am trying to come up with a big word a day" I said proudly.

Sirius burst out laughing, unable to control himself much longer.

"But quaint only has…" he began counting on his fingers before giving up. "Not many letters".

I pretended to look outrages "it's the thought that counts," I said with my hand clutching my heart.

Sirius and I laughed until we finally started to settle down leaving the house (if you can call it that) in silence.

"So…" I said, unable to handle the silence much longer, "what's the plan for tomorrow?"

"Probably planning for the party" said Sirius.

"Party?" I questioned.

"I am surprised James hasn't told you about that yet" started Sirius, "He is extremely excited about it"

"I can only imagine," I said grinning.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes watching the morning light slowly leaking through the windows.

"What are you doing down here?" I asked curiously.

"Thinking" he said shortly, I didn't want to push him because he seemed pretty sure on not expanding his answer.

"About this party" I said, " what is it for?"

He looked at me like I was stupid, "Obviously it is for learning," he said sarcastically.

"Oh fun" I said equally as sarcastic, "are we going to learn about the fall of the Roman Empire, How exciting!"

He laughed quietly causing his body to shake slightly. I decided to take the chance I had in the little amount of light that was available to take a good look at Sirius.

He looked quite tall, even in the casual way he was slumped over the chair. He was wearing a white Singlet that allowed me to easily see his amazing body, his chiselled chest and tanned body made want to drool; it took me every ounce of self-control to stop. His hair hung loosely, slightly ruffed up from the night before although the best feature of him was his eyes.

His eyes were grey, like the sky of a storm and they seemed to have some hypnotic power over me. As I looked into his eyes and his in mine make me want to melt, I forgot everything that I was previously thinking about and just stared into his eyes.

Sirius began to chuckle, snapping me out of my little fantasies.

"Checking me out?" he asked confidently.

"What?" I asked, shocked at how upfront he was, "I was not"

"Don't worry" he said smirking, "I don't blame you, very little can resist"

I gave him a slight glare; "You are too cocky for your own good"

He stared at me, causing my palms to feel sweaty and my heart to beat faster than it should.

"I have to go back to bed," I said a little quickly.

"Ok" said Sirius still smirking to himself.

"'Night" I said.

"Morning" he said nodding out the window to the suns soft rays.

I gave a nervous laugh and walked back towards my room.

Walking back to my room, I felt stupid. Stupid, because James had even told me that Sirius was a flirt, a ladies man but I didn't listen. I just thought that I would be his 'cousin' and I was wrong. He was flirting with me and I fell for it.

Never again though, never again. I would just find myself another boyfriend and hopefully this one will last longer than a week, this would distract me from stupid Sirius and his stupid flirting and would get me one more step closer to finding _the_ _one._

And that's all that I have ever wanted.

I collapsed back into my bed feeling a lot less perky than I did before. I would just have to forget that little incident and look forward to the party.

With that last thought I fell back asleep, my eyelids too heavy to keep open.


	3. Chapter 3

Hours had past since I had last woken up, the curtains were drawn tightly shut keeping the room in a reasonably dark state

Hours had past since I had last woken up, the curtains were drawn tightly shut keeping the room in a reasonably dark state.

I was ready for the first proper day of my summer at the Potters house; with Sirius of course.

I walked in the general direction of the kitchen, praying that someone would be there to guide my way to… well anyone.

I stumbled slightly, still a bit light headed from the sleep before – as well as something else, which I refused to admit.

I peered through various doors, searching for any form of life when someone shouted behind me,

"You're finally up, sleepy head"

I turned and blinked a few times, still dazed and disorientated to see James looking happy as ever and Sirius smiling at me.

"I'm up" I croaked, my voice obviously not functional yet.

"You're a tad late for breakfast but lunch will be ready soon and then Remus and Peter will be coming over and then-" babbled James.

I cut him off "- James, you might be a little over excited"

He grinned "just a bit"

The whole time we were talking Sirius just stood next to James and smiled, it was starting to freak me out a bit.

"What are we waiting for? Its time for food" James shouted grabbing me and pulling down the hall, I stumbled and nearly tripped although James didn't notice. Sirius snickered.

We walked out the sliding glass doors onto the courtyard. The courtyard was covered in summer flowers that seemed to take over anything in dight. The pool was just a little way down the path with a glass fence that rich people seemed to have.

The sun was warm on my face and seemed to light up the whole area.

James led me over to the large wooden table that was covered in every kind of food imaginable, with flowers picked from the garden as a centre piece; just to finish the look.

The three of us sat down with Aunty Carol and Uncle Harold who was reading the paper with his lopsided glasses. The two of them smiled at me and said good morning, and I returned the gesture.

Sirius and James had already begun stuffing their faces so I decided I would too.

20 minutes later and I had eaten enough food to feed 6 fully grown men, don't let me get started on Sirius and James; I have no idea where they fit it all.

We were sitting in a comfortable silence when Sirius' face lit up like a light bulb,

"Lets play Quidditch!" he said excitedly.

My heart rose, Quidditch was my all time favourite sport, with out meaning to brag… I am hell good at it.

James looked excited, the two boys looked like school girls until James' face dropped "How do we choose teams?" he asked.

"How about, you two against me" I said, trying but failing not to be too cocky.

The boys laughed at me, but I didn't let my confidence slide. "Are you scared you are going to lose?" I asked raising my eyebrows (I have never been able to raise only one, doesn't stop me from trying though)

"No offence, but we would hammer you" said Sirius.

"Ok well if that's what you think, then lets make this interesting" I smirked.

James stopped laughing and looked at me curiously "How so?" he asked sounding slightly Shakespearean.

"Whoever wins gets to have the others dessert tonight" I said getting excited for my three deserts, I am sorry for my cockiness but I am a Potter.

"Well I feel bad for taken your dessert, but ok" said Sirius with confidence.

"Then it's a deal" I said "Lets go so I can win myself some dessert"

"Just don't hurt yourself" said Aunty Carol as we left to go to the Potters personal Quiddtich Pitch.

Just as we were leaving Uncle Harold whispered something so only I could hear, "Beat those cocky boys, their heads were blown up a tad too much"

"Don't worry, I will be the pin too deflate them" I said.

As we made it too the pitch and we had our brooms picked out, it was time to lay down the law, or in better terms, the rules.

James spoke in loud and proud voice, "Seen as we are all chasers here, there shall be no snitch and only one bludger, can you handle that" he said the last part to me.

"I was more worried for you" I said.

James began in his high and mighty voice again, "Please no back chat, furthermore there will be the half pitch rule; this means that once the opponent has intercepted the ball they must fly to half court and return to the goals to attempt to score… understand?" once again he directed the last bit at me.

"Of course" I said sweetly, "Prepare to get your butts kicked"

"Please Rachel, there will be no butt kicking on our behalf only on yours" said Sirius.

"We will see about that," I said.

We all mounted our brooms, ready for the match. James had the bludger in his arms, struggling to get out and Sirius had the quaffle, which he threw to me,

"Ladies first" he said smoothly.

"Always the gentlemen" I replied.

"What can I say?" he said

"Could – we h-h-hurry this – up – maybe?" puffed James with the struggling bludger.

"Fine by me, the sooner I can win," I said.

"First to 5, winners get dessert," shouted Sirius.

My heart was pounding and my hands were sweating, it felt strange because I was usually fine in these conditions although I wasn't usually metres away from Sirius Black. Winning this game wasn't necessarily to prove that I could beat James and Sirius is more that I could prove to myself that I did not like Sirius. It was weird I know but brains are weird.

"3-2-1 GO" shouted James.

And we pushed off into the air, the quaffle still clutched in my hand.


	4. Chapter 4

The wind whistled through my hair, I felt lighter than air and I was ready to beat those boys

The wind whistled through my hair, I felt lighter than air and I was ready to beat those boys.

James had let go of the bludger, which was hanging down lower, waiting for an opportunity to knock someone off. James went straight to the goals and Sirius was right on my tail.

I decided to get the first goal in quickly just so I could see the stunned faces on the boys, just for my amusement.

Sirius was closing in on me, a large grin playing on his face. I threw the ball into the air as high as I could, just to give Sirius a chance.

Sirius laughed and shot upwards with an arm outstretched, he thought that I had chickened out, what a fatal mistake that was.

I shot up and grabbed onto the tail of his broom, slowing him down so he just missed catching the quaffle. He turned at me with a shocked expression, which made me laugh.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James dive for the ball leaving the goals free. This was my chance.

I shot downwards at speeds that should not be possible on broomsticks. I ducked under James so he couldn't see me, his arm had reached out and his face was determined.

I dove down deeper, so I was right under him; the ground was coming up fast and gave the ball a gentle tap. This caused James to miss the ball and pull out of the dive.

I used the opportunity I was given and grabbed the ball and pulled out of the dive. I shot up to the posts and threw the ball threw the hoops causing a clean shot.

The two boys stared at me stunned, not knowing how to react.

The score was 1-0, my way.

Sirius retrieved the ball and passed it too James. The two seemed to have been doing a lot of practise because they were very good at what they were doing. They continued passing back and forth up to half way before returning to the posts where I was waiting for them.

At the last second before the posts James faked a throw into the posts and threw it too Sirius instead. I looked at the angle that Sirius was flying at and knew he was going to shoot in the right post, I knew I could easily stop this.

But I had a different plan, instead of smashing the boys and damaging their masculinity a bit I decided to hit them really hard. If I let them get ahead slightly then when I beat them (which I knew I would – remember, I am a Potter) they would be so crushed that maybe their heads will shrink a little – permanently. It's a big ask, I know.

Sirius threw the ball, I made a pathetic attempt to stop it, and the Quaffle slid right through the right post just like I suspected.

"Terribly sorry, I had to do that" said Sirius as he flew up next to me.

"Oh that's ok," I said, pretending to look a bit upset, "maybe I will get you next time". It took every ounce of self-control not to smirk, but I managed.

James was flying back over to us after retrieving the Quaffle, "Your turn, Rachel dear, don't hurt yourself" he said grinning.

"Thank you for your concern" I said sweetly catching the ball that James threw at me.

The bludger, out of nowhere, flew into our little gathering causing us to scatter.

Sirius was at the goals this time and James was following me as I flew to the halfway point.

I turned around and flew back, directly at James. As I got closer I noticed that James was preparing to take the Quaffle out of my hands. I decided to make it easier for him.

I dodged to one side, leaving the Quaffle in an easily snatchable spot. Like I thought he would, James took his opportunity and stole the ball.

I gave a pathetic attempt and followed James ass he raced around the pitch to the goals where Sirius was waiting. I went in for a lame attempt of an intercept as James threw the ball to Sirius.

Sirius then threw the ball directly into the goals.

The two idiots – I mean boys – high fived each other and then did some weird thing that must have been a secret handshake.

"Rachel, darling" said James, trying to be somewhat sympathetic…I think "Its never too late to change the teams"

"Its ok, we are pretty damn good," said Sirius.

I licked my finger and stuck it in the air, "Do you feel that?" I asked the confused looking boys, "The wind has changed, so I would watch out if I were you"

"You cant stop a Potter now, can you?" said Sirius shaking his head.

James and I both punched Sirius in the arm, "Ouch!" he yelled.

"Maybe we should get on with the game" I suggested, "that bludger is just waiting to give us a smack"

Sirius flew off and got the Quaffle and threw it too me, "We should at least give you a chance" he said.

"How sweet" I said kindly, taking the quaffle. I was ready to smash them.

I weaved in and out of the boys, dodging the bludger and then scoring the next three goals. This, of course, left the boys speechless.

The score was 4 – 2, one more goal and I would win.

I had already intercepted the ball from Sirius who tried to pass to James and I was firing back to the posts for the final goal.

James was hot on my tail and Sirius waiting at the posts, unfortunately for Sirius, he was leaving the left post completely free.

I faked a throw to the right; causing Sirius to head in that direction, and at the last second I threw the ball.

I watched the ball fly through the hoop and turned to gloat when I saw a huge black ball flying at top speed towards me. I had no time to react, the next thing I knew I was hurtling towards the ground…


	5. Chapter 5

Sirius' P

Sirius' P.O.V

Moments earlier…

Rachel was kicking our butts. That is the simplest way to put it. She would weave through us and throw passes that we would miss only by our fingertips. It was really quite annoying.

But I was ready for her next pass. She was going to shoot the final goal into the right post. I knew this because she was flying in that direction and looked as though she was going to throw it there. The smirk played along my face as I got ready for the intercept.

She started to throw in the direction that I suspected, so predictable. I flew to intercept the pass, but before I could react, she threw it into the other post in an impossible shot. I was stunned, but not as stunned as I was when I saw the bludger flying towards her.

It wasn't like a movie, or a book. Time didn't stop. It flew past so quickly, that I wasn't even sure if it happened.

But it did.

The bludger knocked her off her broom and she was flying to the ground at a huge speed. I sped, determined to stop her fall.

I didn't get there in time, neither did James.

My heart stopped as I came closer to her lifeless body, crumpled on the ground. My broom was left forgotten, metres away.

James and I were at her side immediately, along with Carol and Harold who must have been watching the game.

I lay her out gently on her back and called out softly, "Rachel? Can you hear me?" I squeezed her hand tightly and waited for a response of any sort.

She didn't reply. Carol bent down and forced fed her a potion that smelled like old socks and was bubbling like crazy.

James was pacing, Harold was stunned and Carol and I just watched Rachel intently, waiting for a response, any sign of life.

Suddenly, she let put an almost inaudible cough.

"Rachel?" I asked uncertainly.

Her mouth opened although her eyes were still closed.

"I- I" she said quietly, her voice hoarse.

"Its ok" I said soothingly.

"I-I" she said again.

James bent down next to me, "What is it? He asked, he ws almost shaking with fear.

"I g-get your dessert," she said triumphantly.

Everyone sighed with relief, and Rachel grinned – her eyes still glued shut.

My heart started beating again, the shock of Rachel potentially being… I didn't want to think about it, was slowly wearing off.

She sat up, looking as though she didn't just fall out of the sky.

"Well boys" she said confidently, "I don't know about you, but I stink and could defiantly use a swim in the pool- coming?"

James was still concerned, "are you sure? We can just sit down for a little bit if you want" he said

"No, I am fine" she said jumping up.

Carol smiled, "she will be fine" she said reassuringly.

Rachel stumbled slightly, tripping over her own feet. I steadied her with my hands on her waist. My hands started to get clammy, and it wasn't because of the Quiddtich game or the beautiful sunny day.

I let go quickly before anyone could make any incorrect assumptions.

Rachel had already thanked Carol for the potion; obviously she didn't feel as uncomfortable as I did.

About 10 minutes later James and I were ready for the pool. We had on our bordies and towels around our necks, looking cool as usual.

Rachel was already there, a towel rapped around her delicate body.

"Took your time," she grinned at us pretending to check an invisible watch.

"Well we had to make ourselves look good," I said to her confidently.

"Well hurry up and finish then," she said, grinning like an idiot.

"We…have" I said, unable to think of anything intelligent to say.

"That was such a great comeback, I am struggling to find anything to say back to that" she said extremely sarcastic.

"Ladies, if you are done arguing, we can hop in the pool," James chirped in.

I pretended to look shocked, "I am not a lady, I am a ladies man," I said.

Rachel laughed and rolled her eyes.

We all walked to the edge of the pool and peered in; it looked cold and uninviting.

"So, who first?" Rachel asked.

I smirked; she was peering into the pool innocently, completely unaware of my next move. Apparently James was thinking the same thing.

The two of us pushed Rachel into the pool, her shriek of surprise caused the two of us to burst out laughing.

Our laughter was cut short when Rachel resurfaced, her expression full of revenge.

She splashed the cool water all over us. James (not me) squealed like a girl. I was manlier, I ran away from the pools edge with hands flying in the air.

Rachel floated onto her back, laughing. "You two are such girls," she laughed.

That got me, "oh no you didn't" I said.

I ran, as fast as I could without slipping, into the pool. I did the biggest bomb I could possibly achieve. The splash was huge, or I think it was, I was under water during the big part of it. But the waves after I resurfaced were everywhere.

James jumped into the pool after me, splashing the two of us.

We spent a long time in the pool laughing and being idiots. We started a game were we pushed each other under water. I agree, it is a stupid game and really idiotic but it was fun. I am not actually sure how it started, but it did.

I snuck up behind Rachel and grabbed her around the waist ready to slam her into the water. The feel of her bare skin against my hands made me nervous. She stopped laughing for a moment and somehow managed to spin around so we were facing each other.

I looked into her beautiful eyes, unable to remember what we were doing. She looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, which made me laugh.

Suddenly as if my mind had returned to my body, I remembered what we were doing and dunked Rachel fully under the water.

Obviously she wasn't expecting it and resurfaced coughing and spluttering. My stomach twisted and I panicked, "Are you ok?" I asked hurriedly.

She came closer to me, letting out little coughs. Suddenly she pounced on me, dunking my head under the water.

I came up to the surface and watched her jump on James' back; her laughter sent chills up spine. I thought back to moments before hand and wondered what she was thinking as I held her close.

"Boys! And Girl" shouted a voice.

James called out, Rachel was still on his back trying (and failing) to dunk him, "Yeah Dad?"

"Remus and Peter are here" he called.

"Be there in a sec" he shouted back.

James chucked Rachel off his back effortlessly. She pouted, a bit put out that her dunking attempts failed.

"You get to meet Remus and Peter!" shouted James enthusiastically.

He was out of the pool in two seconds flat. "Hurry, hurry" said James impatiently as Rachel slowly waded out of the pool; obviously enjoying tormenting him.

I followed her as she slid gracefully out of the pool.

The three of us wrapped in out towels went to go meet up with Peter and Remus, James was running up ahead and then waiting for us looking as though he needed to pee.

"Don't worry, were coming" laughed Rachel, "You can be such a kid sometimes"

We walked side by side, her hand accidentally brushed along mine sending eletrical sparks through my veins. I would definitely have to ask guru Remus about these stupid 'feelings' because they really starting to bug me.

I haven't even complained about being hungry for a couple hours, something must be wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

Rachel's P

Rachel's P.O.V

I thought I was going to die, I didn't tell anyone… but I actually thought, 'my god, this is the end, isn't it?'. Luckily it wasn't and I came out of the Quiddtich accident scratch free thanks to Aunty Carols 'wonder potion'. That, by the way, tastes absolutely HORRIBLE.

At least the fall has reminded me of one thing, I have to work harder at finding the right guy for me. And I know just where to find him (no, not Sirius); I will find him at the party.

James was so excited for me to meet Remus and Peter, he was jumping up and down urging Sirius and I to hurry. I found it quite amusing to torture him by walking slower and slower.

Finally, James gave up. He walked back to my pace and muttered under his breath, "slow poke".

I felt a bit bad so I started to hurry up a little bit, what I wasn't ready for was James picking me up over his shoulder. The suddenness of it all caused me to let out a loud, high-pitched scream of surprise.

Sirius and James laughed as usual; thinking me in distress was funny.

We finally made it to the 'Games room' or so James called it, it will always be the 'playroom' to me. I had given up kicking my legs in protest and was just waiting to be gently placed on the ground. Obviously that was too much to ask for. James chucked me onto the sofa with a thud.

I looked up into the old playroom; it had changed a lot. Where the old cardboard box used to be (we were imaginative children) was a pinball machine, at one end of the room (the play doh section) was a huge wide screen TV with inviting dark blue sofas, one of them, which I was on. At the other end was a matching wooden set of table and chairs with frayed cushions draped over them. The room also had a large glass door that opened the whole room to the outside courtyard.

"So Rachel, this is Remus and Peter," said James triumphantly.

Remus was the taller of the two; he had sandy coloured hair and deep mesmerizing blue eyes. Like James and Sirius, he was well built with easily definable muscles. Peter was shorter and a bit chubbier of the group. He had big, brown puppy dog eyes and a huge smile that could light up a room although he looked nervous while Remus was relaxed.

"Nice to meet you" I said politely, wondering whether or not I was supposed to be polite or just myself.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," said Remus politely, he seemed really nice; he strikes me as a very romantic person.

Peter just smiled at me; I could see his eyes flickering towards the pinball machine.

"Sirius and I just need to grab something," said James smiling like an idiot.

"We do?" asked Sirius confused.

"Yes we do" urged James.

"Oh" said Sirius 'catching on', "we do".

"Back in a jiffy" said James hurrying out of the room with Sirius in his wake.

"Did you know?" asked Remus, "That a Jiffy is an actual measure of time, it stands for 1/100th of a second"

I laughed, "No, I did not know that"

Remus grinned, "Oh go on Peter, just play it" said Remus to Peter.

Peter hurried over to the Pinball machine and immediately started playing.

"He is determined to beat Sirius' high score," said Remus in an undertone.

"Will make it, do you think?" I asked, our gazes were on the back of Peter's head.

"Not a chance"

"And how do you know this?"

Remus grinned, "Sirius rigged the game so whatever score he gets, Sirius' high score is 1000 time more"

Peter let out a cry, "Damn it" he shouted.

"How much did he beat you by this time?" asked Remus, his face grinning like a mad man.

"1000! Again" shouted Peter distressed.

"Next Time" Remus said chuckling.

I couldn't help but giggle.

James and Sirius came bounding in carrying huge cardboard boxes full of… I wish I knew.

"Follow me gents, and Peter" called out James.

I smacked him on the back of the head but followed him out anyway.

I had no idea how those boys managed to walk with those boxes; they were covering their line of sight yet they managed not to trip over.

The boys led us through most of the house-mansion into the other side where a huge set of doors sat just waiting to be opened.

Sirius and James set down their boxes.

Together they spoke,

"Presenting…" began James

"…The greatest…" said Sirius

"…Most wonderful…"

"…The coolest…"

"…And Hippest…"

"…Place to have a shindig," shouted the two of them in unison.

"Or to you less hip people" added Sirius, "a PARTAY!!"

I saw Remus roll his eyes as the two of them open the doors to this 'fantastic' room.

I stepped inside; I take back the quotation marks when I said fantastic. This was… indescribable.

It was like a ballroom, it had a high ceiling and long tables and chairs. It also had a stage with curtains and everything. The walls were painted a light cream colour and the twisted columns were a slightly darker shade.

"Now all we have to do is…" said James

"DECORATE!!," shouted Sirius and James together, pulling out balloons and streamers.

All of us went to the boxes and pulled out the stuff they had brought and began to decorate the hall. It was a big job, to put it lightly.

Sirius somehow managed to get three huge disco balls onto the ceiling and Remus and I were loosing oxygen fast from the amount of balloons we had blown up.

I was taking a break from the work and was lying in between all the balloons with James beside me, stuffing as many biscuits in his mouth as possible when I noticed Peter staring at me. I sat up.

"Are you Ok Peter?" I asked, he had been pretty quiet the whole time.

He mumbled something incoherent and wandered away towards the nearly empty cardboard boxes.

I shrugged it off, he was a little strange that kid.

I started talking to James although he seemed a little distracted, even too distracted to have a biscuit eating competition with me.

"Are you all right?" I asked concerned at my cousin's odd behaviour.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, glaring in Peter's direction.

I followed his gaze and saw that Peter continued looking up and staring at me although when he saw James watching him, he would quickly look away.

I lay back down on the floor when James jumped up.

"Sirius can you come with me, and Peter, I need to have a word with you" he said a little angrily.

Peter hesitated, looking nervous. He stole one last glance at me and followed James and Sirius.

The three boys left the room, leaving Remus and I together.

"What's that all about?" I asked him.

"I think I know" he said a little worried, his voice had a knowing edge to it.

"Care to enlighten me?" I asked.

His expression lightened, "Nope" he said shortly.

"Come on, breaks over" he said getting to his feet.

I sighed and got up, I followed Remus to the box and pulled out some streamers. Although the whole time I was wondering what the three boys were talking about just outside those doors.

A/N

Hope you liked it, what are they talking about? You shall find out next chapter… ba ba baaaaaaa.

Thanks for reading

xox


	7. Chapter 7

Sirius' POV

Sirius' POV

"What the hell Peter?" Shouted James.

We were out of earshot from Remus and Rachel, and James was yelling at Peter.

"I…I…Don't know what y…y…you're talking a…a…about" stuttered Peter nervous as hell, like anyone would be in that position.

"You could stop staring at her, could you?" accused James.

Peter didn't say anything, he was trembling.

"My cousin, anyone but my cousin" said James loudly, his arms flying in the air. James was beginning to go on a rant and I knew I was the one who would have to stop it.

"James man, calm down" I said with my hand on his shoulder.

James was beginning to cool off, he was good like that. If you stopped him early enough then he would stop but if he kept going for much longer, well, lets just say he can a hold a mighty long grudge.

Peter began to get his confidence back, "What about Remus?" he asked.

"What?" asked James, a little out of it.

"He was being a bit cosy with her" Peter said.

"But that's the difference, I know he would never do anything to hurt any of us" said James, his voice beginning to rise again.

"How do you now that?" asked Peter, his confidence dropping.

"For one, when you liked Mary and Mary liked Remus, even though Remus had a thing for her, he didn't do anything to hurt you" Said James.

"He didn't go out with her because of his furry little problem" Squeaked Peter.

That hit a sensitive point in James, "Remus does NOT have a problem and it doesn't stop him from being like everybody else, got it" threatened James.

"y…y…yes" stuttered Peter.

"Now, go away" said James brushing Peter away "And don't go anywhere near Rachel or I will hunt you down"

Peter ran away back to the Hall.

I stood in stunned silence, waiting for James to cool down.

I never realised how protective James was of Rachel, I knew he was protective but not _that_ protective. It actually scared me a little.

"Sorry" said James quietly.

"Its ok, you have every right to be protective," I said.

"Its just… I don't want her to get hurt," he said.

"I know but you have to remember that she can take care of herself" I said, trying to comfort him, in the manliest way possible.

James sighed, "You're right, but I can still be a little protective, right?" he asked.

"Of course" I grinned, "And I shall help you because that's what brothers are for"

We hugged each other, the way brothers would.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" asked an outside voice.

Our hug suddenly got awkward.

We broke apart to see Rachel with a big grin on her face.

"We were just…hugging," I said lamely.

"Ok" she said, although she sounded as though she didn't believe us.

"Peter wanted to go, and Remus decided to go as well" she said "and then I got bored and I found you guys…hugging" she laughed.

"Lets just forget this and have some dinner," suggested James.

Rachel's POV

We had a huge dinner with the family and I was now in my pyjamas, ready to go to sleep.

But, I wasn't tired.

I wondered down the hall in search of Sirius and James. I found the room that they had should me earlier and entered.

Sirius was casually sitting on his bed reading the latest _Quiddtich and co._ Magazine (I, of course, had already read it cover to cover).

"Hey Sirius" I said chirpily.

I jumped onto James bed, which was right next Sirius. I could hear the shower running; thank god that boy actually takes showers.

"What are you doing?" I asked Sirius, trying to make a conversation out of him (I am not too good in silence)

"Reading" he grunted, the typical teenage boy way.

"What's it about?" I asked, although I already new the thing inside and out.

He grunted something, but I can't be positive what it was.

I heard something unusual coming from the bathroom, it sounded like singing.

'_The hills are alive…with the sound of music…'_

I looked at Sirius; he didn't seem to be as disturbed as I was.

James slammed open the bathroom door and sung the same line again although louder and more out of tune this time.

'_THE HILLS ARE ALIVE… WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC'_

I sat still, wondering if I should

a) Run away screaming.

b) Laugh under my breath

c) Hide under the covers and try to forget the trauma I had just faced

d) Continue looking as stunned as I have been for the past few seconds.

I went with d; it seemed most logical thing to do.

James took a bow as if he had just done something amazing; Sirius flipped another page in his magazine looking just as relaxed as he had done before.

"Rachel!" exclaimed James in surprise "Didn't see you there"

I was still speechless; luckily James was already changed into his car covered pyjamas (nothing compared to my Barbie ones that I was wearing).

I finally got my voice back, "Why were you singing?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, you know" said James getting slightly embarrassed (I am pretty sure I am talking to THE James Potter)

"Thinking of…" he mumbled something incoherent at the end.

"What was that, dear?" I asked, smirking.

"Lily" he muttered.

"You mean the Lily you had a crush on in 4th year?" I asked.

This got Sirius up, "4th Year?" he asked loudly, "you told me 5th year"

James looked nervous; "you might have thought I was weird if I had liked her since 4th year"

"Of course you are weird James, but I am still friends with you" exclaimed Sirius, "I'm friends with Rachel aren't I?"

"That's true," said James

"Hey! I am not…that weird, am I?" I asked

"Of course you are" said Sirius, "But that's why we love you"

Ooo he said he loves me, _shut up_ Rachel…

"So tell me about Lily" I said to James.

James looked out the window, as if in another land.

"Lily has the most beautiful green eyes, and the softest, nicest smelling hair (don't ask), she has these beautiful long legs that makes me just want to- "

"Too much information" I said, stopping him.

He smiled sheepishly, "she's coming to the party tomorrow"

"So I can meet here?" I asked her excited.

"I don't think she will be able to handle another Potter" said Sirius.

"What do you mean?" I asked

"Too put it in terms you will understand" said Sirius "Lily thinks James is a jerk"

I was shocked, well actually, not really…it didn't sound that farfetched.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Nothing" said James quickly, "Anyway, it doesn't matter about the past, it's the future we need to worry about"

"I have a plan," said James, "one that can not, will not possibly fail"

"Oh god" I groaned, "Lets hear it"

A/N

Please tell me what you think; I am absolutely loving the reviews. More than you could possibly imagine. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

xox


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